Intesa Communications Group

  • About
    • In San Diego
    • In North County
    • Wherever You Are
  • Who We Are
  • Our Clients
    • Our Work
  • Quick Fixes
    • Seas the Day
  • Contact
  • The Latest
You are here: Home / Uncategorized / Interview tips: Take the menace out of media calls

Interview tips: Take the menace out of media calls

September 26, 2018 by Intesa Leave a Comment

It’s nearing October and pumpkin spice is popping up on menus everywhere. We detect a slight chill in the air, but that could just be wishful thinking in sunny San Diego. Halloween is just around the corner and things are starting to feel a little bit ~spooky~…

The Halloween vibes have us thinking about the scariest part of PR for our clients… INTERVIEWS! Does the word alone give you the heebie-jeebies? Well then sit with us for a few minutes and let’s review some Intesa media coaching tips that will help you take on interviews with confidence.

preparing for an interview

Preparation is crucial to a successful interview. Good interview preparation will have you feeling confident and makes it much more likely that you provide the reporter with what they’re looking for- win-win! It’s a good idea to connect with the reporter before an interview to get an idea of what they’re looking for and what their expectations are. Remember that just because it’s not called an interview, doesn’t mean the conversation is off the record. Ask the reporter what the story is about, what they hope to get out of your interview, and what other assets might be helpful to them. Let the reporter know that you’re there to help!

practice, practice, practice!

There’s no substitute for this old stand-by advice. The best ways to take the fright out of something is to do it until it’s familiar. So practice a lot. Practice with different people and in various environments. Make sure to practice out loud, as you’re sure to make (and learn from) more mistakes when practicing out loud than practicing in your head. We can assure you, as professionals, that no matter how bored your cat appears, they are happy to be your sounding board.

don’t be ~afraid~ to set boundaries

As Intesa Founding Partner Margie Newman always says, “Period. Not comma.” When you are acting as a source for media, you only want to provide information that you are confident in. Any question you don’t feel prepared to answer, feel free to respond with a helpful, “I’m not prepared to talk about that today, but I’d be happy to help you find the answer.” This sets a clear boundary, but also lets the reporter (and the audience, if you’re quoted) know that you’re doing your best to provide the most accurate information.

At Intesa, we make it a priority to work on public speaking preparation that gives our clients confidence in themselves and their performance. From talking points to interview pointers, we make sure our clients are interview-ready to help make the most out of media opportunities.

If you’d like some professional media coaching, who you gonna call? In-tesa!

(Duh-nuh-nuh Nuh-nuh)

Image credit: “Scream” (1996)

Filed Under: Uncategorized

About Intesa

Founded in 2012 in San Diego, Intesa Communications Group is a San Diego-based communications and government relations firm doing our best work for people and causes we believe in.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay in the loop!

Sign up for our quarterly newsletter. We promise to be good stewards of your information and will never spam you.

Recent Posts

  • Improving San Diego: I’m proud of how Civic Communities transforms our region
  • Stay ready: build confidence and trust through a PR crisis
  • ‘Tis the season’…for awards!
    Intesa scores big wins at PRSA and MarCom
  • 2022 Businesswomen of the Year Finalist Maddy Kilkenny on client wins and community service: “helping create a better San Diego is what it’s all about.”
  • Intesa Team Applauds Kenneth Moore,  Revered Among San Diego’s ‘Next Top Business Leaders Under 40’

Latest Tweets Latest Tweets

  • RT @PrezdelaTorre: A historic moment for our Aztecs! For the first time in program history, @Aztec_MBB advances to the Elite Eight!… https://t.co/nOZkfdWXOW, Mar 26
  • ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ https://t.co/OxiVHPhEgZ, Mar 25
  • Blue Bash made @LJCDS history yet again! Last weekend Intesa’s @MargieNewman was honored to Emcee for a 3rd ye… https://t.co/e5CUkZivvf, Mar 22
  • Have lunch plans today? There’s still time to register for @PRSAsandiego’s #crisiscomms panel with @MargieNewman,… https://t.co/mHqYZPRaNU, Mar 21
  • Join us tomorrow! ️@MargieNewman’s talking #crisiscomms with @PRSAsandiego https://t.co/QQPHXW3NnZ, Mar 20

Where to find us

2550 Fifth Avenue
Suite 510
San Diego, CA 92103
619-995-3078

Start A Project

Let us take that off your plate. Call or send us a request via our contact form and we'll get back to you right away!

Privacy Policy

Please visit our Privacy page for information

Connect With Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 · Intesa Communications Group

Copyright © 2023 · Agency Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in